South AsiaIslam, as a religion of revelation, began as an
apocalyptic movement anticipating the Day of
Judgment, and retains apocalyptic and millennial
elements to this day, especially in Shia theology, but
also in many forms of popular religiosity. In partic-
ular, the mujaddid tradition, that foresees a
“renewer” at every century turn (A.H.), appears to
constitute – before the century has turned – a form
of apocalyptic messianic expectation in the coming
of the hidden Mahdì. South Asian Islam, however,
in comparison with other parts of the world, has
not been particularly renowned for the presence of
millenarian movements. This absence of significant
millenarian tendencies in South Asia can be linked,
on the one hand, to the strong Sufi and syncretic
traditions that have flourished for much of the
period since Islam was introduced to the subconti-
nent in the early eighth century C.E. On the other
hand, South Asian Islam has also encompassed a
tradition of reform movements, which have some-
times acted as powerful vehicles for Islamic renewal
and resurgence. It is, therefore, in the context of
these kinds of reforming impulses that millenarian-
style trends have periodically surfaced.
The millenarian idea that divine or supernatural
intervention will bring about a reversal of worldly
expectations resulting in an earthly paradise tends
to appeal to those who are dispossessed both cul-
turally and economically. This has been the case in
South Asia where such movements have arisen dur-
ing periods of great social or political uncertainty,
or during crises of one sort or another. However,
unlike other parts of the so-called Muslim world,
these millenarian impulses did not necessarily
revolve around a central Mahdìfigure. All the
same, they were usually associated with charis-
matic male leaders, whose leadership skills proved
essential to the dynamics of the movement, as
reflected in the title of mujaddidi-i(renewer of the
faith) by which they often came to be known. The
millenarian movements that made the greatest
impact in South Asia emerged from the eighteenth
century onwards, and were often linked with the
concept of jihad (holy war), thus involving some
degree of popular uprising directed at the over-
throw of infidel power, which was regarded as
essential if the Islamic community were going to be
Political-Social Movements: Millenarian
able to renew its strength and vigor. Inevitably per-
haps, bearing in mind the gender norms associated
with South Asian Muslims during this period, it is
virtually impossible to find concrete evidence of
female involvement in such movements, but, as
with any populist uprising, it is possible that female
sympathizers backed their male relatives’ participa-
tion by looking after affairs at home while the men
carried on the struggle elsewhere. The problem is to
identify such activity in the patchy source material
that is available.
Early Mahdist movements, with millenarian
associations, were connected with the completion
of the first one thousand years of the Muslim era. In
South Asia, they took definite form through the
teachings of Mìr Sayyid Mu™ammad of Jaunpur in
the later fifteenth century C.E., who claimed that a
voice from heaven had whispered to him “Thou art
the Mahdì.” Other Mahdìs emerged during this
period in different parts of the subcontinent, but,
on the whole, they were educated men who pos-
sessed great oratorical power as preachers, tended
to be hostile to established elites at court and within
the ranks of the ≠ulamà±, and claimed to be renova-
tors of Islam, that is mujaddidùn. Perhaps the best
known example of this millenarian tendency was
Shaykh A™mad Sirhindì(1564–1624), given the
honorific title of Mujaddid-i alf-i thànì(Renewer of
the second millennium). As a young man he learned
the fundamentals of Sufism from his father. Later he
was initiated into the Naqshbandìorder. Toward
the end of his life, his reputation as “renewer of the
faith” was established when he was viewed by his
followers as the renovator expected to arrive at the
beginning of the second millennium after Mu™am-
mad on account of his efforts to purify Islam and
restore its traditional orthodoxy. His stand against
what he perceived as anti-Islamic practices in India
helped to bring about a religious renaissance. To
counteract the forces of heresy, which he believed
had been encouraged by the religious innovations
associated with the Mughal Emperor Akbar, he
sent trained disciples out to towns and cities across
the subcontinent in order to propagate what he
regarded as the true spirit of Islam. How far his
ideas penetrated the world of Muslim women
remains impossible to quantify, though it is known
that he married a woman belonging to a noble fam-
ily and that it was through personal links and cor-